<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Clubbing by JackFettGames</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23229421">Clubbing</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/JackFettGames/pseuds/JackFettGames'>JackFettGames</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Clubbing, F/F, Gen, Hell, Let's Go Sapphics!, Minor Violence, Potentially One-Sided Relationship, Protectiveness, other characters referenced, uwu they're so cute</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 12:15:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,256</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23229421</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/JackFettGames/pseuds/JackFettGames</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tonight, Alice Magne sets out on a visit to the truth of Hell with the vibrant Stacy "Pixie Dust!" Alice just has to suppress her feelings for Stacy, and everything will go smoothly. Right?</p><p>(A gift for a friend)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alice Magne/Stacy "Pixie" Dust, Charlie Magne/Vaggie, Original Character/Original Character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Clubbing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello, everyone! I hope you enjoy my new story. I wrote it as a gift for my friend on the Hazbin Hotel Amino, ~Right Back at 'Cha~, and it includes two of her original characters. Props to her! Here are the links to her wikis for the characters:</p><p>https://aminoapps.com/c/hazbinhotelofficial/page/item/alice/pxDW_pPFpIE2rebjzB3p8eEZDgo2QBlKPd<br/>https://aminoapps.com/c/hazbinhotelofficial/page/item/stacy/2pMK_bkFwIQmlVjnzP11kYRDmxN72BXq7</p><p>Anyway, thank you for reading my work!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The thriving commotion of Hell, the constant motion and conflict and especially danger— It always drew Alice to her bedroom window, far above in the Happy Hotel. Every aspect of Hell below her seemed more lively and grounded and visceral, more than the idle peace kept up in the hotel by her mothers. Her immortal soul must truly rest among the denizens and danger below, and in the moments when Alice stood on the precipice of the deepest pits of anxiety, she felt that she would fade away if she didn’t run away from everything she knew now to claim it. Of course, Alice knew she would never muster up the courage to actually cut herself from the hotel, but least imagining her dramatic, fulfilling, euphoric entrance into the truth of Hell eased the pain of not acting on it, remaining in her room, yearning for genuine experience.</p><p>	Yet tonight, the view from the window changed its tone: not yearning, but anticipation. The yearning would return, of course. Tonight would simply be a visit into the truth of Hell, but Alice would still leap at it with all the excitement of Nifty when she was allowed to freely clean for an hour. Finally, a more accurate semblance of relief, a more effective placebo. And it would all be by the side of the liveliest, most fluid figure in all of Hell, more visceral than all her contemporaries: Stacy. “Pixie.” The self-proclaimed “Happy Accident,” conceived from a drunken night between Uncle Angel and his friend, Cherri. That amazing girl, speeding through a true, vivacious life on a beaten pair of roller skates and her stunning grin. The girl for whom Alice held the biggest crush.</p><p>	To stem her already growing blush, Alice left her bedroom window and returned to her trusted vanity, continuing to drag a brush through her now-yielding, white hair, ensuring that it looked perfect for the night. She already applied a minimal coating of makeup, only fixing any obvious blemishes— Stacy always said that she liked Alice’s “genuine style,” and however barebones it was, Alice would need it to face the truth of Hell. Alice also dressed in an oversized hoodie, comfortable shorts, and flat soled shoes— more precious genuineness. It was the perfect display of what Stacy wanted, and it would soften the impact of jumping into the reality below.</p><p>	The anticipation was both glorious and torturous.</p><p>	A short creak cried from Alice’s door, as if suffering from the same divide. “Honey, are you still here?”</p><p>	That voice, other demons would know it as Charlie Magne’s, princess of Hell, but Alice knew it as Mom’s. Alice surprisingly bonded with both of her mothers once she told them about Stacy’s invitation: Ma— known to others as Vaggie— intensified their training “to protect against men,” and Mom comforted Alice whenever her anxiety flared over tonight. Alice was endlessly grateful to them both for not outright preventing this night out, allowing her this experience to feed her desire.</p><p>	Alice called back to Mom. “Yeah, I’m just waiting for Stacy now.”</p><p>	Mom peeked her head into the room. Every time Alice had seen her in the past week, this time included, an increasing, calm gladness shone in her eyes. The gladness wasn’t devoid of sadness— In fact, the sadness seemed to heighten the gladness beyond its normal intensity. This gladness, mainly, kept Alice from completely abandoning the Happy Hotel, despite her desire to claim her soul from the society below. It was a fountain of calm, spouting from Mom’s pride and splashing into Alice’s own.</p><p>	Mom smiled at Alice, and Alice responded by rushing from the mirror to her, almost leaping into a hug. Mom returned the embrace. “Remember to trust your own instincts about anyone and anything you come across, darling. You will be fine.”</p><p>	“And if you come across a dick, burn ‘em to a crisp!” Ma’s voice rang from the hallway.</p><p>	Mom turned her gaze from Alice to the doorway, retaining her smile. “I doubt it’ll come to that.”</p><p>	Ma strolled into view, grinning with excited pleasure. “You never know.”</p><p>	“We will discuss this— alone— once Alice leaves.”</p><p>	Alice’s parents laughed with a heartiness that only they shared just as a stark doorbell resounded through the hallway, the first strike of reality.</p><p>	“Oh! Bye, Mom! Bye, Ma! I’ll see you after! Love ya!”</p><p>	“Love you too, honey!” Both her mothers echoed each other.</p><p>	“Jinx.” Mom broke the silence just as Alice ran out of earshot, beelining for the hotel stairwell and making a mad dash to the bottom. Almost everyone else used the elevator, so there was no danger in her rush. And so much dopamine and adrenaline, generated from her incoming entrance into Hell, coursed through Alice that she had to use it in some fashion, so the stairs would do. Floor after floor whipped by in a circular motion, bordered on the outside by the walls and the inside by the railing. The journey exhilarated Alice; she felt free, ready to take on all the danger of Hell. Once Alice impacted the ground floor, she burst through the door to the lobby and used her residual speed to zip to the front door, opening it to the outside.</p><p>	And there was Stacy, in all her hot pink glory. “Wow, hi, Alice! I didn’t expect you to get here so fast!”</p><p>	“Hi, Stacy!” Still out of breath, Alice managed to lightly chuckle. “I’m just so excited for tonight. Thank you for taking me out!”</p><p>	“Hey, no problem!” Stacy’s grin shone, as always. Every time Alice witnessed that grin alight, she wanted to run into it, run into Stacy, and maybe even— No. That was too far for right now. Stacy already bestowed a glorious night in Hell upon Alice, no need to push it. Alice worked well when she took things slow, anyway. So, just come back, and appreciate this moment. Don’t expect anything else to come of it.</p><p>	“So, you ready to go?” Fortunately, Alice still found enthusiasm with which to project her voice.</p><p>	“Yeah, I just wanted to check one thing.” Stacy brought her arm to the large magenta bag she strapped behind her back, removing and unfolding a small bundle of fabric. It was a hoodie, certainly smaller than Alice’s own, yet Alice’s hoodie was fairly large on her. This new hoodie might feasibly fit, especially considering that Stacy held it in her direction.</p><p>	Stacy cleared her throat. “A while ago, you said that if you went out into Hell with me, you would want a closer fitting hoodie. I think I told you that your normal hoodie was fine, but I went ahead and got a new one in case you still wanted it. Did you?” Stacy followed with a crooked smile.</p><p>	Alice did express desire for this hoodie, yes, but it was a mindless observation she made on a late night, one born of boredom and a lack of sleep and a want to talk more with Stacy. Still, seeing the hoodie before her now, seeing Stacy hold it with an expectant expression— Alice couldn’t deny Stacy the gracious act of giving a gift to a friend. Alice knew that she would feel terrible if she bought a gift that Stacy didn’t like— She would endlessly apologize for putting Stacy through such embarrassment. So, for the sake of Stacy, Alice would accept this gift with all the excitement she maintained thus far.</p><p>	“Thank you, Stacy!”</p><p>	“No prob, Alice!” Stacy’s voice and smile seemed smoother now.</p><p>	Alice already had her own hoodie over her head before she realized that she was changing in front of the girl toward whom she swore not to make any advance. Alice always wore a fairly thick undershirt in case she needed to change in relative public— usually near friends of her mothers— but Stacy didn’t know that, and oh no, what would she think of Alice changing in front of her? Would she be disgusted or horrified or angry? Well, Alice could only finish taking off her hoodie. By the time she could see Stacy again, the other girl didn’t seem to have changed her expression, and it was a greater relief than Alice was expecting. The relief almost sparked joy, Alice felt.</p><p>	Alice quickly continued to slip into the new, smaller hoodie, not wanting to interrupt the natural flow of the moment. It was a snug fit, giving her a second of trouble before she worked it onto her body. Alice refocused on Stacy. “Are we ready?”</p><p>	“Hell yeah! Let’s go!” Stacy took Alice’s hand and dragged her into the red-tinted sea of decrepit streets behind her, filled with all the peril and fighting and life for which Alice yearned.</p><p>	Alice’s first step into Hell proper was more peaceful than she imagined. Perhaps the hotel still shielded her from the true nature of Hell, protecting her until she was truly out of its grasp. Until she truly claimed her soul. Until then, Alice eagerly awaited the moment when she would enter reality, shedding the loving yet insubstantial force of the hotel. Her life would fulfill itself among all the danger of an uncaring Hell, not within a family predisposed toward her.</p><p>	Fortunately, this truth began upon Alice’s next step.</p><p>	A car screeched across her view, heard before it was seen, aiming for a pedestrian on the other side of the road. A thunk and a crunch echoed from the moment of impact as Stacy quickly tugged Alice to turn away. They began progressing down the street— Alice knew crashes were somewhat of a normal occurrence— but they still heard the loud cursing that emanated from the aftermath.</p><p>	“Hey, watch where you’re going, pal!”</p><p>	“I was, Gerald.”</p><p>	Alice, led by Stacy, fell out of earshot.</p><p>	Much of the two girls’ journey involved some sort of conflict in the background. What must have been a bar fight transpired in an open door tavern, and while the two girls passed, one of the participants ripped a literal metal bar from the counter. Stacy pointed out a posse of imps and a hellhound trailing a unaware demon into an alley. A snake started cackling inside of a hovering vehicle before the blast of an explosion— perhaps Stacy’s mom, perhaps not— took it down. And where there wasn’t violence, its recent remnants remained: broken glass and stained makeshift weaponry and sometimes even a severed limb. All Alice had come to expect from Hell, in its constant motion of afterlife and life itself. Walking among all this motion was almost the same as witnessing it from her window.</p><p>What Alice didn't expect, even as she anticipated Stacy’s vibrance and a hint of friendliness, was the amount of care Stacy showed her during their journey. Stacy swept Alice out of the path of any danger that Alice herself didn’t avoid, whether physically— from cars and pieces of building and rampaging demons— and in other ways. In one instance, a scantily clothed, smug grinned lion demon leered in the middle of a shadowed, red-tinted alley, blocking their way forward.</p><p>Before he could even say a word, Stacy already weaved a web with her tone. “Hey, it's dangerous out here for a little boy like you.”</p><p>The lion demon moved to speak, faltered when he realized what Stacy just said, allowed his mind a moment— a few moments— to comprehend the situation, and resolved on his comeback. “The same could be said of you.”</p><p>“Oh, please. Without your precious Valentino to back you up, you’re nothing but a floozy with a misleading mane.” Stacy glanced back at Alice, a surface sheen of confidence over her eyes. Alice smiled in response, tugging at the collar of her new hoodie. Stacy’s hand twitched over her large bag, not moving any further. She snapped her head back to her victim.</p><p>	The lion demon tried to grasp control of the situation— “I could call Valentino and prove you wrong right now.”</p><p>	But Stacy wasn’t going to give it up. “Well, he wouldn’t be inclined to help you if you wanted to hurt the daughter of his most valuable asset.”</p><p>	The lion demon seemed to recognise some aspect of Stacy’s appearance— if it wasn’t simply a consistent delay in his thinking— and, searching his mind for another comeback and failing, he stood in place for a few seconds. Pointing his finger at the girls, he still couldn’t find any words, resolving instead to back into a passage off to the side, eyes trained on them in all the appearance and none of the substance of a threat. Stacy looked back at Alice, her face and hand relaxing a second before they picked up the pace once again, with a grin and a grasp of Alice’s arm, which still laid limp from the awe of the encounter. Finally, Alice had an aspect of risk in her life! It felt like a dream, to be immersed in this reality.</p><p>	As Stacy held her arm, Alice felt a blush rising again, carrying her past the warnings she had given herself before they left the hotel. Wow, Stacy was in her element, flowing along and through society in her own power, and she was absolutely, astoundingly hot as she did so. And, maybe as a result of not experiencing it regularly, this whole journey, this entrance into Hell, it felt unreal— the kind of unreality where Alice, without consequence, could just tug her arm back, turn Stacy’s face toward her, and envelop her in a passionate— Don’t let it happen. Don’t risk your friendship with your own selfish desires. Not tonight. Tonight, just enjoy that you’re truly in Hell, even if you don’t really feel here at all.</p><p>	Finally, Stacy stopped, prompting Alice to follow suit. “Hey, you wanna go crash this ‘secret’ club?”</p><p>	It was a “secret” club, not only because it was the sole “used bookstore” in a strip of bars, casinos, and combinations of the two, but because the sign proclaimed, “Unsuspicious book club meeting this Sunday—” today— “with preapproval from the proper authorities!” Alice heard from Uncle Angel that it was an old human habit, disguising drinking haunts in this way. Perhaps entering this secretive club would allow Alice to discover a method with which to claim her soul, for if a demon hosted such a distinct club in Hell, they certainly had a good sense of what they wanted from their afterlife and, consequently, who they truly were. In their vicinity, or at least in the club that they hosted, Alice would surely foster a steadfast sense of identity as well.</p><p>	“Sure!” Alice grinned. And if nothing else, the apparent close quarters of the club would make all her surroundings seem more real, allowing her to appreciate them to their fullest extent. Yes, this would be an excellent, fulfilling detour on this visit to Hell, by the side of the most beautiful being here. Even if Alice couldn’t make any romantic advance toward her.</p><p>	A bell resounded with the opening of the door, the first noticeable detail of the facade. The door itself opened to an atmosphere thick with dust, lined with shelves and books and ornate lamps. The lamplight shone in yellow, making the surrounding seem aged and wise, from the redwood of the shelves to the veins of plaster on the ceiling. It was quiet and musty; it would be a perfect disguise for the liveliness within if not for its presence in Hell in the first place. Alice, still in a dreamlike state, trained her mind on these details, hoping to use them as a pivot on which to thrust herself into reality.</p><p>	Someone cleared their throat to the right of Stacy and Pixie. It was an imp, rolling his fingers across the counter at which he sat. He seemed to have just awoken, if the bleariness in his eyes was an indication, yet his demeanor didn’t have that same bleariness. He immediately donned a judgemental lean, another person who wanted to impose himself over Stacy. This wouldn’t end well for him.</p><p>	The imp matched his tone to the lean of his body. “What are ya here for?”</p><p>	Stacy sprouted a sweet smile, closing her eyes in a facsimile of glee. “We were just seeing if we could join the book club!”</p><p>	The imp’s eyes slowly travelled between the two girls. Under his gaze, Alice felt constrained by her new hoodie, like it was tightening around her, binding her to inaction and cutting her off from her soul. Even as it tightened, the hoodie also encompassed Alice’s whole being, covering her more than even her old hoodie, creating a prison of fabric which forced Alice to remain in place, no matter how much she yearned to act. At least Stacy stood next to her, able and willing to back her up.</p><p>	The imp expressed his summation. “The club’s been cancelled.”</p><p>	Stacy leaned toward the imp— a direct challenge. “Then you wouldn’t mind if we just browsed your collection, would you?”</p><p>	As the imp smoldered with the force of a boulder blocking a path, Alice struggled against the binding of her hoodie and comfort and unreality, but even so near the ground, even so near the truth of Hell, she still couldn’t break free. She couldn’t break the dreamlike quality of this visit, couldn’t make anything seem more real, couldn’t truly and finally find her soul or the ability to lead a real life. Her anxiety strained the air, boring into her being because she must act, she must make the most of this visit before it passed, yet the protection of dreams bound her still. What else could she do to break into reality? She already walked— or at least stood frozen— among those who led real lives; it was the best she could do.</p><p>	Stacy remained still as well, staring at the imp until he finally relented. “Fine, it’s behind the third bookshelf on the right wall.” Then he turned away, muttering to himself at such a volume that it seemed he didn’t care if the girls heard. “I just have let this shit slide, as long as I’m still getting paid. Ugh, what was up with that stare?” Alice assumed he meant Stacy’s.</p><p>	Stacy grabbed Alice’s arm, and Alice followed her through the bookstore, yet less enthusiastically than before. The shining hope Alice once held for the fulfillment of this visit was rapidly dimming into some emotion resembling disappointment. It was almost like true disappointment, yet Alice still felt irrational hope for fulfillment, as if she hadn’t tried absolutely everything to reach it. She couldn’t even have the bad parts of the truth, huh? She still unconsciously reached an arm out for the dangers of Hell, despite not finding any, huh? Her thoughts broiled, siphoning the energy from her movements, only allowing Alice to listlessly follow Stacy.</p><p>	Surely enough, there was a pronounced gap between the second and third bookshelves along the right wall. However, before Stacy reached to pull open the shelf, she looked back upon Alice, and the light about her seemed to dim as she proceeded to place her hands upon Alice’s shoulders.</p><p>	“Hey, you holding up alright?”</p><p>	No, everything was torture, being in a dream so close to reality. It all made Alice want to scream into the void, the void into which she would inevitably fade if she did not find a way to cement herself, fulfill herself. Most of all, excruciating pain bled from the degrees of separation between her and Stacy, her ultimate goal, the girl who lived every moment in the thick of reality, vibrant and coursing and completely true to herself. A pure beauty.</p><p>	“Yeah, I’m alright.”</p><p>	Stacy kept standing before Alice for another moment. Could Stacy see the lie? Yet she relaxed her shoulders. “Alright.” And she eased open the door, and she led Alice into the darkness beyond, and their quiet moment ended.</p><p>	In this small, barely secretive club, the first thing that struck Alice was that light and darkness seemed to have exchanged properties. Darkness spilled all around the club, seeping into the corners and edges of the room from some shrouded source, creating a floating sensation which intensified Alice’s fears of unreality. Light only seemed to shine in the absence of darkness, slicing into her vision in small strips, yet from what Alice could see of it, it was more intense than any light she had ever seen. They were multicolored and precise and sharp. They danced with more vigor and ecstasy than even those who physically danced. They were the life Alice wanted, beyond the drifting darkness. Any doubts she still held faded away in the reignition of her hope for genuine life.</p><p>	And below the lights, upon the floor, there was a jumping diving thumping throbbing thriving loving living mass of demons who were caught in the sway of an electronic melody, in the throes of staccato motion, in the reality Alice craved. The mass seemed to exist to the whim of the lights, making Alice desperately desire to penetrate their center. Yet the growths and recessions might not allow Alice entry, ejecting her from any chance to escape the dream. So she simply stood still next to Stacy.</p><p>	Looking far into the lights before her, Stacy donned a wide grin, yet there was something that wasn’t glee in her eyes, something that made Alice think of Mom, yet not as composed. Then Stacy turned to Alice, and glee alone consumed her face. “Alright, so, you wanna dance?”</p><p>	This offer might be Alice’s only chance to grab hold of the truth of Hell, so she took it immediately. “Of course!”</p><p>	Stacy laughed, a buttery melody lathering over Alice’s heart, more stark than the electronic music behind it. “Hell yeah! Let’s go!” Stacy’s eyes regained that strange aspect once she turned back to the dance floor, but Alice wasn’t sure if that aspect had any substantial implication, so she said nothing.</p><p>	Stacy glided into the throng of demons below the lights with all the smoothness that Alice always admired in her. Stacy perfectly attuned herself to any situation she came across, and witnessing it caused Alice’s blood to flow and thrum with infatuation. Alice was grateful for the darkness spilling throughout the room, for it disguised the blush lighting up her face. All Alice must do is follow Stacy into this microcosm of Hell, in all its fluid motion, and everything else would follow. Alice took a second to brace herself for impact, then launched herself into the throng. She impacted someone else, but they only stopped for a second before submitting themselves to the flow of the dance floor once again.</p><p>	And Alice felt glorious, in the middle of it all. She felt that she had wings, not the strict, unitextured, practical ones of angels, but of a smorgasbord of elements, all arranged in a way that should seem cluttered, but in the magic of the night, in some artist’s flair, seemed natural, intended, and simply right. There were no other wings Alice could want, as much as she loved the Happy Hotel. Here, among Stacy and the conflict of dance and Hell itself, this was Heaven. The dreamlike quality of this night didn’t diminish, but it mattered less in the midst of euphoria.</p><p>	Alice didn’t know how much time she spent dancing. The motions around her were those of a hypnotic spiral, consuming time and leaving a simple, delightful enjoyment of existence. The pulse of the music, the pulse of the crowd, all uncaring to anything outside of the moment, it most effectively accomplished the task of passing time like nothing else Alice ever experienced.</p><p>	But even these moments end, always all too soon. A singular thought broke free of the vacuum: Where is Stacy right now? Alice slowed her motions, focusing around the club. Outside the thriving circle, Alice saw a dim flash of magenta, reflected from the bright lights above, exit the club via a door that was not where they entered. Feeling exhaustion and boredom and other aspects of the outside world finally set in, Alice resolved to chase that spark of magenta to the ends of Hell, and thus pushed herself from the crowd of dancers. There was a certain chill in the air beyond the throng— simply a relative temperature difference— and Alice felt her heartbeat begin the gradual process of slowing down as she walked over to the exit.</p><p>	Alice eased the door shut, muting the music of the club and allowing her to appreciate the sounds of Hell. A crash sounded from a street over. An explosion rocked in the distance. A rumble of talking and footsteps hung around these more dramatic noises. All of it seemed muted to Alice as she remembered her desire to break her dreamlike state, come closer to the sounds, and find her soul.</p><p>	A sound in the close vicinity eased her fall from the high of euphoria. It was the voice, not of an angel, but of her angel. She was the daughter of Uncle Angel, after all. “So, boy, you really must want to teach me that lesson of yours.”</p><p>	A gruff voice resounded from the same area as Stacy’s, yet this new voice still seemed to hold a tinge of pathetic excitement. “Uh, yeah, I’m gonna show you what dominance is around here.”</p><p>	“I guess I have to prepare for quite the hammering, then.” Stacy’s voice had an unfamiliar edge to it. It was similar to the tone she adopted at all their other encounters with demons, sweet, falsely unassuming, smooth as butter. But her current tone seemed to take a texture more akin to syrup than butter, thicker, heavier, more impactful, and with a stronger flavor. It sounded like more of a genuine falsehood, a more honest form of deception, trickery which seemed more real. As her mothers to each other, this tone attracted Alice all the more, and she soundlessly stepped to a spot where she could witness the exchange. The trash bin seemed to do the trick.</p><p>	Meanwhile, the other voice responded. “Oh yeah, sweetheart. Let’s get down to business.”</p><p>	Moving to a position where she could see, Alice witnessed Stacy and the back of a demon with distinctive feathered hair tufts. Intent burned in Stacy’s eyes, narrowing around the demon before her in a seductive, dangerous trap. From what Alice could see, the other demon leaned slightly inward, drawn to her eyes and drifting with their motions. A fearful, exciting anticipation sparked within Alice, and she allowed this encounter to consume her mind, for it might finally break her separation from reality.</p><p>	Stacy’s smile grew wider, and the male demon, not realising what was about to happen, not realising the web Stacy strung, didn’t think to move. Stacy’s arms zipped to her back, removing the straps of her magenta bag and flinging it upward. As the bright spot of magenta continued to ascend, a heavy object plummeted out, landing with a satisfying weight in Stacy’s hands. A hammer. Stacy wasted no time in rushing at the other demon, preparing her first swing.</p><p>	The weight of his transgressions rained down with the force of Stacy clubbing him.</p><p>	The force of the impact made Alice gasp. The strikes of the hammer, the pivots of Stacy’s arms, the thunks against the other demon’s body— They were everything for which Alice sought, everything that could thrust her into reality, everything withheld within her true soul. They injected fire within her veins. Yet, still, Alice hadn’t reached reality. There was one final step before she overcame the precipice. She didn’t know exactly what the next theoretical step was, but all the excitement and hope and residual euphoria swirling inside her convinced her of what her next physical step should be: out from behind the dumpster, into the light of the alley, into the light of Hell.</p><p>	Upon the emergence, Stacy met her gaze with Alice and faltered for a second, a second which the other demon used to grab onto her wrists and move to flip Stacy over. He almost completed the motion before a blunt force slammed into his side, ripping him away from his target. He found himself pinned in a burning chokehold against the wall behind him, paralyzed, forced to stare at the girl with flames erupting down her arms, across their surroundings, and within her eyes. Alice.</p><p>	This. Was. Life. Real. Pure. Burning. Fulfilling. Everything.</p><p>	Remembering how Stacy dealt with the lion demon, Alice decided to talk down to this demon as well. Just pretend he’s as easy to read as Mom. Okay. First, his overly gruff demeanor. “You enjoy being stronger than everyone else.” But there was something else, a timbre in his voice, an unpreparedness to deal with resistance. It was a hunch, but the flames of Alice swept the hunch into the core of her inferno. “But you aren’t used to it. You weren’t as strong in life, and you wanted to be stronger to assert your strength over someone. But strength, even given to you, doesn’t come naturally, and you weren’t able to fulfill your desire, remaining as weak as you were in life.” Then, remembering Mom’s advice, Alice let go of his throat and extinguished the flames. “I hope this makes you reconsider your afterlife’s purpose!”</p><p>	Wide eyes stared up at Alice from the demon, crumpled on the ground. He raised a quivering arm to feel his throat and winced as an audible sizzle arose from contact. Training his eyes back on Alice, he remained on the ground for a moment until hightailing it out of the back alley. Alice truly hoped he reconsidered.</p><p>	And Alice felt great! Fulfilled! Finally finding her soul, finally existing among the truth of Hell! She was fully here, and she felt better here than anywhere, even in the club. The visit was a success! Now, to thank Stacy. Alice turned around to face her as she stood completely still, mouth agape.</p><p>	“Ah—” Strangely— strangely for Stacy, at least— she seemed to be at a loss for words, losing her continuous flow. Stacy shook her head, then marginally recovered. “Alice, holy shit.”</p><p>	“Was that good, Stacy?” A stupid grin grew upon Alice’s face, and she felt good enough not to care. Now, to thank the person who brought her here— and to possibly further their relationship in some fashion. “Also, thank you for this night out!”</p><p>	“Uh, you’re welcome.” Stacy held a small quiver in her voice. “But… Wow, that fire…” What might have been fear or awe flashed in front of her eyes, but Alice wasn’t confident enough to decipher it right now.</p><p>	Stacy aimed her gaze toward Alice’s torso, so Alice herself followed it. Her undershirt showed, white and still fairly thick, but she came to realize that her flames burned away the hoodie she wore. “Oh no, I’m sorry Stacy! I didn’t mean to ruin your gift!” Oh no, Alice might have broken Stacy’s flow by offending her, neglecting her gracious gift.</p><p>	Stacy deeply exhaled, voice still quivering. “No, it’s fine, just… Wow.”</p><p>	Alice felt her confidence rapidly draining away, severing her connection to reality. Well, she still felt the remnants of fulfillment, and they were enough for tonight, for this visit into Hell. For now, Alice still felt the thrums of music from inside the club, a distant call to where they should go next. “Do you want to go back inside?”</p><p>	“Yeah, just—” Stacy exhaled again— “give me a moment.”</p><p>	“Alright!”</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>